Sanford agrees to loan to keep unemployment afloat

Statehouse clouds cropped Gov. Mark Sanford ended his stalemate with the S.C. Employment Security Commission today and signed off on a $146 million federal loan to ensure unemployment benefits are paid after the first of the year. The state might find itself in the same position again at the end of March, however, when the loan runs out, if it doesn’t find a way to cut costs or boost revenues to fund unemployment benefits. Read More...

Columbia’s office real estate market holding up, so far

Occupancy rates in Columbia were basically stable in 2008, while the market absorbed more than 52,000 square feet of new space, according to a market analysis done by Colliers Keenan real estate firm.

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Midlands electric vehicle maker applies for $15 million loan

Atlanta-based electric vehicle manufacturer RTEV Inc., which has a facility in Fairfield County, has applied for $15 million in low-interest loans under a new federal program designed to spur development of fuel-efficient vehicles.

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SCE&G drops natural gas rates for January

The utility lowered the purchased-gas portion of its natural gas rates for January, resulting in a decrease of $1.43, or 1.04%, compared with December in overall costs to residential customers based on average usage for the month.

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Newberry banker appointed to FHLBank Atlanta board

J. Thomas Johnson was re-elected vice chairman of FHLBank Atlanta’s board of directors. Johnson is vice chairman and executive vice president of First Community Bank in Newberry. His term began Jan. 1.

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Businesses are hopeful but are expecting tough 90 days ahead

Survey Week 1 Version 4 The Tate Center for Entrepreneurship and SC Biz News have teamed up to provide a real-time look at the business climate in all three major metro areas of South Carolina. The data gathered has been compared with information from the National Federation of Independent Business to give our readers information about the regional economy right now.

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Southern First Bancshares posts Q3 loss from Fannie Mae

Southern First Bancshares Inc., the holding company for Southern First Bank and Greenville First Bank, said it had a net loss of $127,000 for the third quarter of 2008, compared with net income of $957,000 a year earlier.

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